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in a regulated liberal profession involves simultaneously processing the professional project and the company project. Beyond mastering the profession, it is necessary to check the conditions of access and exercise, choose a place and a mode of exercise, size the investments, predict the first charges and identify the interlocutors who will be able to accompany the launch.

Check if the activity is regulated

If the proposed activity is regulated, all the conditions of access specific to the profession must be checked with the order, competent authority or credit union concerned.

They are varied and depend on the profession. These may include:

• Diploma requirements
• Conditions of professional experience
• Pre-training conditions
• Minimum age requirements
• Conditions of good repute (e.g. not having been convicted by a French or foreign court)
• Financial conditions (for example, having a minimum amount of capital)

There is no exhaustive list of regulated activities. However, to check if the proposed activity is regulated, you can consult the directory next:

Search for regulated activities or professions

Carrying out a market study

It is essential to analyze supply, demand, environment and territory before launching the activity.

in liberal terms, it is essential to know your territory well before committing to it: the customer or customer area, the rates and the local conditions of competition.

For example, the CastoSanté atlas allows general practitioners, nurses, massage physiotherapists, dental surgeons and midwives

Cartosanté - Where in liberal in one click

Building your business plan

The drafting of a business plan is an essential step.

It is a structured document that formalizes the project, detailing its strategy (financing strategy, tax strategy or communication strategy), its financial forecasts and its economic model.

The development of a business plan is essential to convince banks and investors. It reassures the various stakeholders about the viability of the business.

Our sheet gives details for develop a business plan

Of tools are available to help you build your business plan:

• CCI France provides the CCI Builder platform to help you design a business plan step by step:

Building a business plan with CCI Business Builder

• AngelSart allows you to automatically get a accounting forecast complete over 5 years.

Designing a professional business plan with AngelStart

Choose the place of exercise or not

The installation requirements can be very different from one profession to another.

A professional who travels mainly to his patients will not have the same investments or the same expenses as a professional who receives his clients in a practice:

Which local support to turn to?

Creating a company requires rigorous preparation. Different professionals in support of company creation may provide support at each stage of the project, as appropriate:

There is no competent consular chamber in case ofliberal activity. Depending on the profession, the contacts are different:

• the professional orders for regulated professions (doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants, nurses, etc.)
• the trade unions or professional unions, such asUNAPL: titleContent :

Support networks can provide a support at every stage of a company creation project. The main support networks are:

Additional information is available on the Bpifrance Création website:

Networks to accompany me in my project

Bpifrance Creation

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My Pass Crea is a free service offered by Bpifrance Creation offers a tool to inform and support anyone with an entrepreneurial project: creation, takeover or sale of a company.

This service centralizes methods, tools, resources and professional support to secure each stage of the entrepreneurial journey. Accessible online, Mon Pass Créa offers a custom path, adapted to the level of progress, profile and needs of each project leader.

My Pass Crea: the personalized path to create, take back or give away a company

How to consolidate your management bases before

Consult resources on management and treasury

The Banque de France provides numerous educational resources to better understand the essential concepts of accounting balance sheet, treasury, solvency, etc.

It also makes available a series of videos «Simple as an account» to explain these different concepts:

Series: "Simple as compta"

Banque de France

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Receive free training to prepare for installation

The digital learning platform bpifrance-university.fr offers more than 400 short and operational online training courses, in the form of e-learning modules, live and replay webinars, podcasts, digital guides, tutorials, interactive exercises, or interviews with the best experts.

It can be mobilized by the professional who must strengthen his foundations as a company manager, particularly in steering, financial management or commercial development.

This platform allows you to complete your skills at your own pace through training and webinars. Online training is constantly updated to best respond to the rapid changes in the company world and allow learners to adapt their strategy accordingly.

Bpifrance University

Bpifrance

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Verify the conditions of access to the profession when the activity is regulated

Some liberal professions are regulated. This means that the exercise is subject to certain rules:

• The use of title is protected. You must have a professional qualification to practice (diploma, professional experience, etc.). For example, a person who practices the profession of psychologist without the required qualifications commits usurpation of title. It is an offense punishable by imprisonment and a fine.
• The profession is subject to ethical principles or professional ethics. For example, lawyers or architects must follow a number of rules that are set out in a code of ethics.
• The profession is controlled controlled by a professional body : professional order, professional chamber, trade union. For example, the Council of the Order of Architects ensures compliance with the code of ethics and may impose disciplinary sanctions (e.g. warning, reprimand, suspension or removal from the register of the Order).

Identify the structures of practice really open to the profession

The choice of the legal form (or legal status) of a company is a decisive step.

It determines the company’s operating rules, but it also has implications for the tax system and social protection.

There are two main legal forms:

• Individual business (EI) : allows you to carry out your activity alone and in your own name. The Head of company and the individual business shall form a one and the same person. Micro-company (or self-company) is an individual business with a simplified tax and social system.
• Business : allows you to work in a legal entity distinct from the head of company. It has the legal personality, i.e. it has its own legal existence (share capital, company name, registered office, etc.).

The legal form chosen has consequences for the protection of the personal assets of the entrepreneur and his liability.

• By choosing the individual business : the contractor has a professional heritage automatically separated from his personal assets. In the event of fraud and serious breaches, the tax authorities and social security bodies may demand payment of their debts on professional assets and staff.
• By choosing a business of Liberal Practice (SEL) :
  
  • Responsibility limited partners who are not active in the business. Their responsibility is limited the amount of contributions to the capital of the business.
  • Responsibility solidarity and indefinite associates of SEL who are engaged in a professional activity. Their responsibility covers their entire heritage.
• By choosing a Professional Civil business (PCS) : the partner is responsible jointly and indefinitely debts of the business on all its assets. This means that a creditor may, in the event of default of the business, claim against one of the partners and demand payment of the entire debt. Each partner is personally responsible for all the professional acts he performs and the business is jointly and severally liable with him. Only liberal professions authorized by decree may use the form of SCP (architect, chartered accountant, veterinarianetc).

Simulate fiscal and social effects

Social plan of the entrepreneur

Depending on the legal form chosen, the entrepreneur is affiliated to a specific regime:

• The individual entrepreneur, the majority associate officer of SELARL, the associate officer of a single-person private practice business with limited liability (SELURL) are affiliated with the social security scheme for self-employed persons as a self-employed person (TNS): the creator is liable to pay social contributions from the first year on an estimated flat-rate income.
  Only the individual entrepreneur who contributes to the Cipav: titleContent can choose the micro-social regime. To find out which professions contribute to the Cipav, see next document.
• The president of a simplified private practice business (SELAS) or a single-person simplified private practice business (SELASU), the president and director of an anonymous private practice business (SELAFA), the minority or non-partner manager of a private practice business with limited liability (SELARL) are affiliated to the general social security system as employee equivalent manager. Social security contributions are high. Depending on the nature of their activity (e.g. veterinarian or chartered accountant), equivalent employee managers are required to payan additional contribution supplementary pension schemes.

A simulator allows toestimate the amount of contributions of the liberal professional :

Income simulator for self-employed

Tax system

Depending on the legal form chosen, the entrepreneur has the choice between the following tax regimes:

• The micro-BNC diet shall apply where the CAHT: titleContent does not exceed €83,600 for 2 consecutive years.
  One flat-rate abatement from 34% shall apply to the gross annual revenue received.
• The controlled declaration procedure applies to professionals whose turnover exceeds €83,600. It also applies to all companies who wish to deduct their actual expenses (rent, material, professional expenses, etc.). The trader shall keep a journal of revenue and expenditure and a register of fixed assets and depreciation.
• The business tax system (IS) can be chosen by all legal companies (businesses, individual businesses).

In practice: comparing legal forms of practice

To make the right choice, it is therefore essential to take into account many factors:

• the exercise of the activity alone or together with partners (in business )
• the tax system for the taxation of profits
• the social protection scheme in accordance with the envisaged legal form.

To help you choose the legal form that best suits your situation, the Urssaf offers the following simulator:

Finding the right legal status (form) for your company project

The same legal form can produce very different effects depending on the profession, the level of investment and the way of working. The following situations illustrate the arbitrations to be conducted before filing the articles or signing a financing agreement.

Quantify the need and build a financing plan

The following steps should be followed:

• List needs to be funded: works, premises, equipment, software, vehicles, stocks, deeds, insurance, recruitment, communication and start-up cash.
• Distinguish between investments and working capital requirements: the duration and type of funding must be commensurate with the nature of the expenditure.
• Build 3 scenarios: central, prudent and downgraded; indicate the level of revenue, expenses, remuneration and the point at which cash flow becomes insufficient.
• Document input and resources that can be mobilized: savings, contributions from partners, current account, loan of honor, aid, ARCE or other resources, without considering aid as certain before agreement.
• Compare loan offers on their overall cost: rate, term, deferred, fees, guarantees, borrower insurance, unblocking conditions and early repayment.
• Secure a trade-in or association: valuation, stock, debts, contracts, asset and liability guarantee, distribution of contributions and exit of a partner.
• Check territorial and professional arrangements: regional aid, zoning, support networks, health financing or Order schemes.
• Plan for follow-up after installation: cash flow, maturities, unpaid, payroll taxes, equipment renewal and security reserve.

A funding plan must be dated and reviewable. Aid or loans must not be presented as acquired before official notification. The trader must compare the total cost, the guarantees requested, the payment schedule and the effect of each solution on its cash flow, social protection and ability to invest afterwards.

The financing plan must be adapted to each situation:

Identify the financing available

The project leader is most often required to supplement his personal resources with external financing to make the creation/take-over operation a reality.

The means to obtain the necessary funds financing your entrepreneurial project are numerous.

The following categories can be distinguished among all financing solutions:

• thepersonal contribution and start-up capital (equity financing): personal savings, the Arce, donations from relatives, honor loans, etc.
• the search for investors to strengthen your equity
• of borrowings that allow for the completion of a financing plan

Bpifrance création provides an overview of financing for company creators according to this grid. It helps to link every expense to the right resource and to understand why a contribution or a loan of honor can facilitate access to bank credit.

Overview of financing for company creators

Bpifrance Creation

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It is important to check territorial and professional arrangements : regional aid, zoning, support networks, health financing or Order schemes.

The Bank of Territories proposes loans specifically dedicated to the creation of a study for the exercise of a regulated legal profession : notary, commissioner of justice, judicial administrator, judicial agent.

It also offers a funding dedicated to homes and health centers in priority areas defined by the ARS. The offer may concern projects carried out by private businesses and finance building, acquisition or renovation. Criteria, rate and duration must be checked at the time of assembly.

Bpifrance création provides a simulator to identify the main financial solutions that can be mobilized for the realization of a company creation or takeover project. This tool can also be used as a preparation tool before a banking appointment, provided that it incorporates the specific rules of the regulated profession and the professional's personal expenses.

Identify the financing that can be mobilized for a creation, recovery or development project

Mobilizing aid and support

There are several thousand supports to help entrepreneurs start their business.

THEaid for recovery and company creation (Arce) is a financial aid paid by France Travail (formerly Job center) to company creators or buyers. It consists in receiving part of his unemployment benefits in the form of capital and under conditions.

France Travail provides a simulator to find out about France Travail à la création grants:

Know the France Travail aids to the creation or recovery of company

To identify the aids that concern you, you can consult this database which lists more than 2000 support and financial aid schemes.

This database allows you to search for assistance by project, by territory (region, department or municipality) or by funding organization:

Reference database on company aid

Build a management dashboard and manage its activity

The management dashboard is a tool for monitoring and controlling the performance of a company. It offers a summary view of the company's situation according to previously chosen indicators. It thus makes it possible to anticipate the difficulties and to highlight the corrective actions to be implemented.

It exists different types of management dashboards, depending on the elements that it is desired to control. For example, the budget management dashboard tracks the implementation of the company budget, while the operational management dashboard tracks the progress of internal actions defined by the company.

For more information, you can consult our factsheet on thedevelopment of a management dashboard.

A number of professional can help in its implementation:

• Chartered accountants
• Consular support networks: French Chambers of commerce and industry (CCI), Chambers of Crafts and Crafts (CMA), etc.
• Support networks (BGE, Adie, France Active, etc.)
• Authorized Management Associations (AGMs) for the liberal professions

The liberal professional is not obligated hire a public accountant. He can decide to manage his own accounting internally. But using a chartered accountant presents a a number of advantages, for example: compliance with laws and regulations, compliance with deadlines, centralization of financial information.

Some of the partner accountants Business Story network offer specific support mechanisms, including personalized appointments, advice on management and business development, as well as the identification of financing solutions:

Business story: your project has an appointment with an accountant

National Council of the Order of Chartered Accountants

Pour en savoir plus

Manage your activity in practice

In summary, to manage its activity, it is essential to:

• Know the key figures: invoiced and received revenue, fixed and variable expenses, margin, profit or loss, cash and short-term liabilities.
• Build a management calendar: billing, reminders, returns, payroll, vendor payments, tax deadlines, and monthly reviews.
• Follow the activity at the right level: by mission, patient, site, employee, product family or type of service depending on the profession.
• Formalize billing rules: quotes, advance payments, mandatory information, payment terms, reminders, credit notes and retention of supporting documents.
• Protect data and access: backups, permissions, privacy, archiving, business continuity, and incident procedure.
• Distinguish roles: which is the responsibility of the professional, employee, employee, accountant or IT provider.
• Test decisions before committing them: recruitment, investment, relocation, purchase of equipment, tariff changes or association.
• Revise indicators: a dashboard must evolve with the size of the firm, the business model and the obligations of the profession.

In practice, the monitoring of the indicators depends on the activity and the objectives pursued:

Mastering accounting rules

The accounting requirements depend on the legal form of the company. Thus, a micro-entrepreneur (« self-entrepreneur ») has the possibility to hold a lean accounting. Instead, a business will have several accounting obligations to comply with: keeping accounts, keeping mandatory records, drawing up annual accounts.

Consult our file to learn more about all the accounting rules a company.

In such cases, the company must invoice and retain accounting records.

Invoicing your benefits

As a professional, it is necessary to respect the rules of billing, in particular by including in invoices the mandatory particulars. Invoices must also comply with rules regarding their format and their transmission.

Since 1^er September 2026, micro-entrepreneurs established in France and subject to TVA must be able to receive electronic invoices.

From 1^er September 2027 :

• micro-companies will have the obligation toissue electronic invoices
• some data will also have to be transmitted to the administration in electronic form (e-reporting).

Maintain accounting records

A company shall retain any document issued or received in the course of its business for a minimum period of time. This period varies according to the nature of the documents and the legal obligations. During this period, the administration may carry out checks.

This simulator allows to know the retention times of the main documents:

Know how long to keep a professional document